FeministWitch_13
|• we were born to fight, never stop •|

She gasped awake, clenching her fists tight enough to stop the blood from flowing into the tips of her fingers. Breathing heavily, she brushed her hands on the bare skin of her neck and wiped away the sweat. Her bulging eyes seemed like they would come out of their sockets. Lincoln jumped awake at the sound of her breathing, he saw that the flames had somehow distinguished so he quickly scurried over to Lyra.

"Lyra, are you okay?" He hugged her, his body cold against her burning hot one.

She wheezed, "I think so." Lyra slapped her head to get rid of the buzzing and squeezed it hoping the pain would stop. She suddenly stood up, detaching herself from Lincoln. "I think I know what happened to us all."

"You do?" He asked with a creased forehead.

"Yes." She walked over to Juniper and shook her awake.

"Lyra?" Juniper jumped on her feet and hugged her tighter than Lincoln had. "Oh my goodness, I was so scared, those flames..." Juniper stopped herself when she saw Lyra's confused expression and said, "You don't remember."

"What are you talking about? Anyways, I think I know what's happening here, hurry, we need to gather everyone, I need to talk to them." Lyra urged Juniper towards the exit.

"Okay... I'll sound the emergency bell and tell everyone to go to the great hall on the top floor. It is big enough for us all," Juniper said.

"Wait," Lyra whispered. "Let's go to the Pitch hall instead."

"The what?" Juniper blinked at Lyra.

"The hall you guys call the conference room, where you guys hold those meetings. The one with the fixed banners on the ground. Quickly! We don't have time." Lyra grabbed Juniper by the wrist and pulled her down the stairs.

Juniper shook Lyra's hand out of her grip and spoke. "Okay, you go there, I'll send everyone by sounding the alarm and making an announcement through the intercom as I said." Juniper disappeared through the hallway on the left as Lincoln followed Lyra down the stairs.

Lincoln's heart skipped a beat as he ran past Isaac's room, cursing himself for making a stupid mistake. He hoped no one saw him. No matter who saw him and who didn't, he was sure Emma did. She lived in his heart, she saw the monster hidden within him, the beast that had been waiting, waiting to come out. Lincoln felt goosebumps cover his skin as a shiver ran down his spine. He didn't want to be a monster.

"What are you thinking?" Lyra asked through gasps, she found it hard to breathe.

"N-nothing." Lincoln stuttered but Lyra didn't question him again.

They jogged around the corner, reaching the tall glass doors of what Lyra suddenly remembered as the Pitch hall. She halted outside, feeling the same adrenaline she felt the last time she stood there, barely remembering the events that happened before. She gaps in her mind worried her but when she remembered, the feeling was exhilarating, the excitement almost exhausting her.

She pushed the door open, the damp and stuffy air invaded her nostrils, the emptiness soon filled by a torrent of teenagers. She waited for them to settle before she began talking.

"Ladies and gentlemen." She smiled at herself, nostalgia playing with her head. "I'm Lyra as some of you know, I think I know what happened to us all!" She skipped over towards a banner, her peculiar action making some laugh. "We are inside a program, the Elite Program. It has three stages." Some sniggered at her, some listened as she pressed the side of the banner and watched it light up.

Juniper gnawed on her nails as she read the screen. For the past few years, she had tried to turn it on, she did so much, everything proving to be futile. Lyra explained phases one and two, stopping at the third.

"I don't know what the third is for, that's what's not adding up in my head, also, the initial plans of the Elite Program consisted of fifty teenagers, but I know for a fact that there are more than that, there's sixty-nine of us, there may be more, that doesn't add up." Lyra thought to herself for a minute, she was confident she knew what she was talking about, but she also knew that the Elite Program had been played with.

"And the Hunter? Is it a part of this all?" A small voice at the back asked. It belonged to Alice.

"I think so. I think we are finally safe, the Hunter was a mere part of phase one." Lyra said, she hoped she was right.

The doors burst open to a scared Hamza. "Isaac's dead." Lincoln heard the thudding of his heart in his ears, the world spun. His hands reached to the dagger, he pressed the blade against his palm. The fluidity of the blood coursed its way to his fingertips, a droplet fell on the floor. Against the white marble, his blood looked impure, it looked like a beast in the White Sea. He quickly smudged the blood before anyone saw, but one did see, there's always one who sees.

Hamza seemed to hyperventilate. "The Hunter has entered the building." His face became dark as he pushed his body against the door to hold whatever outside, out there.

Juniper tried to run out, Justin and River held her tightly as she sobbed loudly, her hair wet from tears. Isaac was the soul in her heart, the soul that she loved.

Hamza desperately searched Lyra's face for help, he knew that only she could be a leader, she had the heart of one. Juniper was too exasperated by hatred and loss to care anymore, Lyra was their only hope and they all knew that.

"It okay everyone, we can work around this." Lyra hushed the crowd as Hamza spoke. "We can A, do a primary lockdown or B, lure it back to the forest. I think B."

"No," Lyra whispered to herself, or so she thought.

"What do you mean?" Wes asked.

Lyra looked at him in confusion, then understood he had heard her. "The Hunter, it doesn't hunt a group, it hunts individuals, as long as we stick together; we are safe." She strode to the centre of the hall. "No one must leave this room, only a few designated warriors will, to search for this beast and to bring us food."

Taking out the black marker she found in her room, she inked her thoughts on the marble. She let her cursive handwriting spell out the words: our warriors.

One after one, she listed the names of the brave, the noble, and the ones who would look after others before themselves.

Lincoln Solo
Juniper Thomas Justin Thomas    River Mancroft Adam Hugh Wes David Elizabeth Mancrore Hamza Abir Anier Zaka Dianne Wells Lyra Zwane

"Our warriors." Lyra stood up and scanned around the room to see the faces. "Whatever happens, if we stick together, if we keep our trust strong, we will make it."

—

I was actually not expecting another lockdown *cries*

Thoughts!

What do you think of the warriors? One is a murderer already, what about the rest? Do they have secrets to hide as well?